Integral is pleased to announce the appointment of Sara Sywulka (Team Leader) and Tom Price (Communications Officer) to the Integral Hub in the Philippines. Sara previously worked as the Disaster Risk Reduction Specialist at Food for the Hungry, and before that was their Emergency Response Director. She has also served as chair for the Global Relief Alliance. Tom has been seconded by Tearfund (UK), where he has been working as part of the Communications team. Sara will be in post for six months, and Tom for three.
Sara says, “I am committed to the idea of collaboration, and I am very much looking forward to being a part of deepening the joint work already taking place amongst Integral Members. It is also a rare opportunity to build the capacity of church networks and their partners, and strengthen the links between the international NGO community and local organisations. I am particularly looking forward to this, as well as operationalising the Integral strategy in the Philippines and distilling what the key lessons are for Integral to take forward into their next disaster response.”
Eighteen Integral Members have been working together in the Philippines since Typhoon Haiyan reached landfall on 8th November 2013. Eight Members are involved operationally, either directly or through partners, and ten are supporting the response through fundraising campaigns. Early on during coordination calls Members expressed a strong desire to deepen their work together and pledged support for an in-country multi-agency Integral team (a ‘Hub’) in the form of funds and/or staff.
In November 2013 a Hub set up team, made up of five Integral Members, carried out the initial ground work in the Philippines to establish an office, a Terms of Reference was finalised and the recruitment process started.
Integral Members and their partners are serving some of the worst affected communities, ensuring access to safe water, assistance with shelter, food and household items, as well as providing trauma counselling and child friendly spaces.
Tom says, “I am really excited about this opportunity. I firmly believe working together is the best way to respond to disaster situations, and I am really looking forward to supporting Integral Members to facilitate their ongoing collaboration as they respond to Typhoon Haiyan under the Integral banner.”
Click here for the latest news about Typhoon Haiyan.
Integral Alliance is a WEA affiliate and has served as a global partner to the WEA in the field of relief and development since 2006. Integral contributes to the WEA’s goal of fostering Christian unity around the world through working with its Members on a more integrated and collaborative strategy in disasters.
All Integral Members sign up to the Red Cross Code of Conduct and Sphere Standards, and Integral has developed an agreed Quality Standards Statement amongst its 19 Members.
Integral’s website: www.integralalliance.org
MORE INFORMATION ABOUT INTEGRAL
Integral has 19 Members who work in over 85 countries and currently fund over 1100 projects in more than 30 sectors. Our Members have a combined income of over $675m USDs and are:
Baptist World Aid Australia – Australia
CEDAR Fund – Hong Kong
Food for the Hungry – USA
Integra – Slovakia
MAP International – USA
Medair – Switzerland
Missions Alliance – Norway
Mission East – Denmark
SEL France – France
TEAR Australia – Australia
Tear– Netherlands
Tearfund – Belgium
TEAR Fund – New Zealand
Tear Fund – Switzerland
Tearfund – UK
World Concern – USA
World Relief Canada – Canada
World Relief – USA
World Renew – Canada & USA
The Integral Disaster Relief Process:
Integral Members have developed a collaborative strategy for responding to disasters as Integral, with the Disaster Response Process co-ordinating the emergency activities of its Members. The aim of the Integral DR process is to combine resources to ensure that as many people as possible are reached with the assistance they need.
In disaster situations Integral Members have previously collaborated in:
2014: South Sudan, CAR
2013: Cyclone Mahasen (Bangladesh), North India Flooding (Utterakhand), Syrian Crisis, and Tropical Cyclone Phailin (East India), Typhoon Haiyan (The Philippines)
2012: South Sudan (displacement), Philippines Flooding, Democratic Republic of Congo (displacement)
2011: Cote d’Ivoire, Libya, North Korea, South Sudan, Japan earthquake, Middle East, East Africa food crisis
2010: Haiti earthquake, Sahel food crisis, Indonesia earthquake, Guatemala Hurricane, Pakistan floods
2009: Sri Lanka (internally displaced people), Pakistan floods, Asian disasters
2008: Kenya Unrest, China Earthquake, Myanmar Cyclone, Democratic Republic of Congo, East Africa Food Crisis, India floods
2007: Bangladesh Floods, Zimbabwe Humanitarian Crisis
2006: Indonesia Earthquake
2004: Indonesia Tsunami, Sri Lanka Tsunami
Integral Vision:
- Integral’s vision is a world without poverty.
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Our mission is to work in collaboration as national relief and development agencies committed to maximising the holistic impact of our Christian response to the poor worldwide. Integral’s main focus is on working together when disasters happen, and to find opportunities for our Members to collaborate and so maximise our resources and impact following a disaster.
On Integral Collaboration:
- Integral’s goal is for all its Members to become more effective and efficient in their work and to see greater impact and reach as a result of working collaboratively. This means making sure that Integral Members share information and play complementary roles with the resources they have available when an emergency happens. The Integral Secretariat plays a co-ordinating role to facilitate better communication between all Members in disaster situations with the aim of increasing support and avoiding duplication.
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Integral is committed to working with the Micah Network and the World Evangelical Alliance to ensure that excellence is championed and collaboration encouraged within our wider constituencies.
Integral Contacts:
Fiona Boshoff, Director of Integral
Jan Eyre, Programme and Disaster Management Coordinator
Sarah Larkin, Communication and Marketing Coordinator
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